Watch: Naughty Boy feat Sam Smith – La La La

Entrepreneurial producer of the moment Naughty Boy has teamed up with vocal dynamite Sam Smith for the earwormly ‘La La La’, which is backed up by one of the most touchingly beautiful videos we’ve seen this year.

The British-born producer (known to his mum as Shahid Khan) funded his musical start with a Prince’s Trust Grant and a winning Deal or No Deal appearance and went on to produce Emeli Sandé’s debut record as well as working with our recent favourites Chasing Grace (there’s even a perfectly respectable cover of ‘La La La’ by the Hertfordshire duo doing the rounds). Hooking up with Disclosure collaborator Smith for the pop-garage riffing ‘La La La’ is a smart move, with the London-based singer providing a more palatable counter-balance to the track’s sometimes saccharine title loop.

The video for ‘La La La’ riffs on The Wizard of Oz and is shot on location in Bolivia, from the streets of La Paz to the salt plains of Uyuni and the Potosí mines. Directed by Ian Pons Jewell (who also provided Landshapes with their recent Boliva-set debut video), it’s as ambitious as it sounds and perfectly in key with Naughty Boy’s plans for his upcoming debut album Hotel Cabana. “I want it to be an album for our time; it has a concept to it, so it’s more like a film in some respects,” he has stated. “I view it like I’m not just a producer – I’m a director too”.

What with French visionary Woodkid churning out CGI cathedrals a-plenty, 2013 appears to the be year of the, erm, producer-director. Watch the video below.

‘La La La’ is released through Virgin Records on 19 May.